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"What I hear you saying is that since I am a Christian and believe what the Bible says about homosexuality that I am homophobic?"

No, actually, I'm not. I am Episcopalian....yes, I am a Christian. Not all Christians are right wing (Some have called us among the Christian left, but I find that too confining...and I do not think God fits in one specific political paradigm). But as an Episcopalian, I firmly believe we should keep the Bible in historical context...

I am also trying to be careful in writing my response to your concerns about me. I don't want you to think that I haven't listened to you or that I don't care about what God has to say to me. I know you think I may have been misled by well meaning Christians who don't think as you do, but I hope you will keep in mind that Christians don't agree on a lot of things. Why do you think we have so many denominations? We can't even agree on when or how to baptize! About the only thing we seem to agree on is the love that God expressed through Christ that is found in the four gospels. Specifically - Love God, love your neighbor.

I have known I am gay since I was very young. I can't explain why or how. I can tell you that I didn't CHOOSE to be gay, but I came to realize that this is a part of who I am and I grew to accept it. I don't consider this to be "a lifestyle," because my sexual orientation is a tiny part of who I am as a person. It simply is... I don't obsess about your heterosexuality because it is a tiny part of who you are. I just don't spend much time on it.

Please don't misunderstand me. I know you think you are helping me. But when you read the Bible, you must always take into consideration who is speaking, to whom it is addressed and the purpose for which it was recorded. When you read Leviticus 18, the supposed prohibition against homosexuals in verse 22 should be kept in context with the rest of the chapter or the whole book of Leviticus: No pork, no lobster, no shrimp, no oysters, no eating rare meats. How about no sex during menstruation or calling for the killing of all divorced people who remarry? I do not know of even the most fundamentalist Christian who believes any of that other stuff!

In the New Testament, the references by Paul accompany his belief that woman should be veiled and that they should be silent in the church. It is also important to remember that the Bible was written in Hebrew (Old Testament) and Greek (New Testament) and that the words in your personal Bible depend on which translation you happen to have. It is also important to remember there is no record of Jesus mentioning homosexuality anywhere in the four gospels. He did say that we are not to judge each other and that we'll have to answer to God for how we treat each other (Matthew 7:1).

I'm not trying to make excuses, but God will be the one who judges me. I am comfortable with that and I know He loves me as I am.

I hope that gives you a better idea of where I'm coming from...

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